After intensive negotiations, the European Commission has reached an agreement with the United Kingdom on the terms of its future cooperation with the European Union. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen said: “It was worth fighting for this deal because we now have a fair and balanced agreement with the UK, which will protect our European interests, ensure fair competition, and provide much needed predictability for our fishing communities. Finally, we can leave Brexit behind us and look to the future. Europe is now moving on.” The European Commission’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, said: “We have now come to the end of a very intensive four-year period, particularly over the past nine months, during which we negotiated the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU and a brand new partnership, which we have finally agreed today. The protection of our interests has been front and centre throughout these negotiations and I am pleased that we have managed to do so. It is now for the European Parliament and the Council to have their say on this agreement.”

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A few days ago, the Commission began setting out its approach to undertake a review of the EU’s implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). As a party to the Convention, the EU must evaluate how its rules and practices comply with the anti-corruption principles, objectives and requirements under the Convention to identify any deficiencies that require legislative, institutional and practical reforms. The Commission informs all EU institutions of its intention to launch the review process ahead of the UN General Assembly Special Session against Corruption 2021; it sets out a framework to facilitate the review to allow swift progress in fulfilling all necessary legal obligations, in full respect of the principle of sincere cooperation and administrative autonomy of the institutions; and invites the EU institutions to participate and cooperate at all stages of the process.

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The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) recently published its 2020 Global Insurance Market Report (GIMAR). The report discusses the impact of Covid-19 on the global insurance sector from a supervisory perspective. High-level results indicate that despite the considerable volatility in financial markets during the first half of the year, the global insurance sector has remained both financially and operationally resilient, aided by supervisory measures providing operational relief and by monetary and fiscal support measures in financial markets in certain regions. Continue reading…

As coronavirus continues to disrupt the corporate landscape, a new survey suggests businesses across Europe have significantly shifted their attitudes towards risk. The Chartered IIA’s annual Risk in Focus 2021 report tracks the risks facing organisations year-on-year as ranked by 579 Chief Audit Executives (CAEs). For the third year running, cybersecurity has topped the list of risks, with almost four in five (79%) businesses citing it as one of the major risks they face. More than a quarter (27%) singled cybersecurity out as the number one risk, amid a heightened awareness of the IT and security threats posed by widespread remote working, including an increase in phishing attempts and malware infections. The report also points to ongoing concerns around companies’ ability to remain solvent as the world enters a recession. Amid depressed demand, financial, capital and liquidity risks have jumped up the agenda, with more than two in five (42%) of those surveyed including these within their top five risks – a 40% increase on last year. Continue reading…

Recently, the European Commission launched the New Consumer Agenda to empower European consumers to play an active role in the green and digital transitions. The Agenda also addresses how to increase consumer protection and resilience during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought significant challenges affecting the daily lives of consumers. More concretely, the Agenda puts forward priorities and key action points to be taken in the next 5 years together with Member States at European and national levels. This will, among other things, include a new legal proposal aiming to provide better information on sustainability to consumers, adapting existing legislation to the digital transformation as well as an action plan on product safety with China. Continue reading…

In 2018, due to a failing anti-money laundering policy, ING Bank reached a settlement of 775 million euros with the Public Prosecution Service. Ralph Hamers remained out of harm’s way. Pieter Lakeman, chairman of Stichting Onderzoek Bedrijfs Informatie (SOBI) asked the Court of Appeal to compel the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute Ralph Hamers, who has been CEO of the Swiss bank UBS since September. The Court considers it important “that the standard is confirmed in public criminal proceedings and that bank directors cannot go unpunished if prohibited conduct actually took place during their leadership. Citizens must be able to see that such actions are also not accepted by the government.” According to Pieter Lakeman and his counsel Gabriel Meijers, witness hearings conducted by the IRS about ING Bank showcase that massive and extremely damaging cuts in the anti-money laundering department have been made since Ralph Hamers became CEO of the bank in 2014. Ralph Hamers ignored warnings from his Chief Risk Officer – among others – paving the way for the influx of lucrative yet criminal customers.  Continue reading…

Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), has recently delivered a keynote speech at the webinar “A new standard for a new capitalism: accelerating corporate responsibility through non-financial information” organised by the French Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery.  Continue reading…

On November 25-27, the eight edition of a global threat hunting & intelligence conference CyberCrimeCon, was held online for the very first time. The conference, powered by Group-IB, a Singapore-based cybersecurity company that recently opened its European headquarters in Amsterdam, brought together more than 3,000 independent researchers and cybersecurity professionals from all around the world. The major theme of the event on the fight against evolving cybercrime now encompasses a myriad of different threats such as intelligence units’ military cyber operations, traditional cybercrime, ransomware, carding etc. Representatives of Group-IB, INTERPOL, Europol, financial and tech companies and industrial giants got together to present the latest research findings and share threat hunting and attribution tips. This article will focus on the first day of the event and to four keynote presentations given by four speakers on November 25th. Continue reading…

Let me start by saying that I am very grateful to the German Presidency and to Angela Merkel for the efforts undertaken since this summer. From the Commission’s proposal on the budget and NextGenerationEU to the agreement in July in the Council and the finalisation in the next days. This has underlined, indeed, Europe’s ability to come together and the capacity to act in the face of the worst crisis the EU has ever faced. It would not have been possible without the steady leadership of the Chancellor, the rotating Presidency, and we are very grateful for that. The agreement will help us provide a strong economic response to the crisis while preserving the rule of law. Citizens and the EU economy need our support more than ever and they need it now. So we need to finalise the adoption of the Package, with the help of the European Parliament, as soon as possible. And Member States also have to ensure a swift ratification. This is essential for us to power our economy as soon as possible. Continue reading…